Evaluating indoor positioning systems in a shopping mall : the lessons learned from the IPIN 2018 competition

The Indoor Positioning and Indoor Navigation (IPIN) conference holds an annual competition in which indoor localization systems from different research groups worldwide are evaluated empirically. The objective of this competition is to establish a systematic evaluation methodology with rigorous metrics both for real-time (on-site) and post-processing (off-site) situations, in a realistic environment unfamiliar to the prototype developers. For the IPIN 2018 conference, this competition was held on September 22nd, 2018, in Atlantis, a large shopping mall in Nantes (France). Four competition tracks (two on-site and two off-site) were designed. They consisted of several 1 km routes traversing several floors of the mall. Along these paths, 180 points were topographically surveyed with a 10 cm accuracy, to serve as ground truth landmarks, combining theodolite measurements, differential global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and 3D scanner systems. 34 teams effectively competed. The accuracy score corresponds to the third quartile (75th percentile) of an error metric that combines the horizontal positioning error and the floor detection. The best results for the on-site tracks showed an accuracy score of 11.70 m (Track 1) and 5.50 m (Track 2), while the best results for the off-site tracks showed an accuracy score of 0.90 m (Track 3) and 1.30 m (Track 4). These results showed that it is possible to obtain high accuracy indoor positioning solutions in large, realistic environments using wearable light-weight sensors without deploying any beacon. This paper describes the organization work of the tracks, analyzes the methodology used to quantify the results, reviews the lessons learned from the competition and discusses its future

A Survey of Positioning Systems Using Visible LED Lights

© 2018 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.As Global Positioning System (GPS) cannot provide satisfying performance in indoor environments, indoor positioning technology, which utilizes indoor wireless signals instead of GPS signals, has grown rapidly in recent years. Meanwhile, visible light communication (VLC) using light devices such as light emitting diodes (LEDs) has been deemed to be a promising candidate in the heterogeneous wireless networks that may collaborate with radio frequencies (RF) wireless networks. In particular, light-fidelity has a great potential for deployment in future indoor environments because of its high throughput and security advantages. This paper provides a comprehensive study of a novel positioning technology based on visible white LED lights, which has attracted much attention from both academia and industry. The essential characteristics and principles of this system are deeply discussed, and relevant positioning algorithms and designs are classified and elaborated. This paper undertakes a thorough investigation into current LED-based indoor positioning systems and compares their performance through many aspects, such as test environment, accuracy, and cost. It presents indoor hybrid positioning systems among VLC and other systems (e.g., inertial sensors and RF systems). We also review and classify outdoor VLC positioning applications for the first time. Finally, this paper surveys major advances as well as open issues, challenges, and future research directions in VLC positioning systems.Peer reviewe

Using haptics as an alternative to visual map interfaces for public transport information systems

The use of public transport for daily commutes or for journeys within a new city is something most people rely on. To ensure users actively use public transport services the availability and usability of information relevant to the traveler at any given time is very important. In this paper we describe an interaction model for users of public transport. The interaction model is divided into two main components – the web interaction model and the mobile interaction model. The web interface provides real-time bus information using a website. The mobile interaction model provides similar information to the user through visual user interfaces, gesture based querying, and haptic feedback. Improved access to transit services is very dependent on the effectiveness of communicating information to existing and potential passengers. We discuss the importance and benefits of our multi-modal interaction in public transport systems. The importance of the relatively new mode of haptic feedback is also discussed

Investigation of Shadow Matching for GNSS Positioning in Urban Canyons

All travel behavior of people in urban areas relies on knowing their position. Obtaining position has become increasingly easier thanks to the vast popularity of ‘smart’ mobile devices. The main and most accurate positioning technique used in these devices is global navigation satellite systems (GNSS). However, the poor performance of GNSS user equipment in urban canyons is a well-known problem and it is particularly inaccurate in the cross-street direction. The accuracy in this direction greatly affects many applications, including vehicle lane identification and high-accuracy pedestrian navigation. Shadow matching is a new technique that helps solve this problem by integrating GNSS constellation geometries and information derived from 3D models of buildings. This study brings the shadow matching principle from a simple mathematical model, through experimental proof of concept, system design and demonstration, algorithm redesign, comprehensive experimental tests, real-time demonstration and feasibility assessment, to a workable positioning solution. In this thesis, GNSS performance in urban canyons is numerically evaluated using 3D models. Then, a generic two-phase 6-step shadow matching system is proposed, implemented and tested against both geodetic and smartphone-grade GNSS receivers. A Bayesian technique-based shadow matching is proposed to account for NLOS and diffracted signal reception. A particle filter is designed to enable multi-epoch kinematic positioning. Finally, shadow matching is adapted and implemented as a mobile application (app), with feasibility assessment conducted. Results from the investigation confirm that conventional ranging-based GNSS is not adequate for reliable urban positioning. The designed shadow matching positioning system is demonstrated complementary to conventional GNSS in improving urban positioning accuracy. Each of the three generations of shadow matching algorithm is demonstrated to provide better positioning performance, supported by comprehensive experiments. In summary, shadow matching has been demonstrated to significantly improve urban positioning accuracy; it shows great potential to revolutionize urban positioning from street level to lane level, and possibly meter level

Adaptive, reliable, and accurate positioning model for location-based services

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.This thesis presents a new strategy in achieving highly reliable and accurate position solutions fulfilling the requirements of Location-Based Services (LBS) pedestrians’ applications. The new strategy is divided into two main parts. The first part integrates the available positioning technology within the surrounding LBS application context by introducing an adaptive LBS framework. The context can be described as a group of factors affecting the application behaviour; this includes environmental states, available resources and user preferences. The proposed adaptive framework consists of several stages, such as defining the contextual factors that have a direct effect on the positioning performance, identifying preliminary positioning performance requirements associated with different LBS application groups, and introducing an intelligent positioning services selection function. The second part of this work involves the design and development of a novel positioning model that is responsible for delivering highly reliable, accurate and precise position solutions to LBS users. This new model is based on the single frequency GPS Standard Positioning Service (SPS). Additionally, it is incorporated within the adaptive LBS framework while providing the position solutions, in which all identified contextual factors and application requirements are accounted. The positioning model operates over a client-server architecture including two main components, described as the Localisation Server (LS) and the Mobile Unit (MU). Hybrid functional approaches were developed at both components consisting of several processing procedures allowing the positioning model to operate in two position determination modes. Stand-alone mode is used if enough navigation information was available at the MU using its local positioning device (GPS/EGNOS receiver). Otherwise, server-based mode is utilised, in which the LS intervenes and starts providing the required position solutions. At the LS, multiple sources of GPS augmentation services were received using the Internet as the sole augmentation data transportation medium. The augmentation data was then processed and integrated for the purpose of guaranteeing the availability of valid and reliable information required for the provision of accurate and precise position solutions. Two main advanced position computation methods were developed at the LS, described as coordinate domain and raw domain. The positioning model was experimentally evaluated. According to the reported results, the LS through the developed position computation methods, was able to provide position samples with an accuracy of less than 2 meters, with high precision at 95% confidence level; this was achieved in urban, rural, and open space (clear satellite view) navigation environments. Additionally, the integrity of the position solutions was guaranteed in such environments during more than 90% of the navigation time, taking into consideration the identified integrity thresholds (Horizontal Alert Limits (HAL)=11 m). This positioning performance has outperformed the existing GPS/EGNOS service which was implemented at the MU in all scenarios and environments. In addition, utilising a simulation evaluation facility the developed positioning model performance was quantified with reference to a hybrid positioning service that will be offered by future Galileo Open Service (OS) along with GPS/EGNOS. Using the statistical t-test, it was concluded that there is no significant difference in terms of the position samples’ accuracy achieved from the developed positioning model and the hybrid system at a particular navigation environment described as rural area. The p-value was 0.08 and the level of significance used was 0.05. However, a significant difference in terms of the service integrity for the advantage of the hybrid system was experienced in all remaining scenarios and environments more especially the urban areas due to surrounding obstacles and conditions

Calibration and Validation of A Shared space Model: A Case Study

Shared space is an innovative streetscape design that seeks minimum separation between vehicle traffic and pedestrians. Urban design is moving toward space sharing as a means of increasing the community texture of street surroundings. Its unique features aim to balance priorities and allow cars and pedestrians to coexist harmoniously without the need to dictate behavior. There is, however, a need for a simulation tool to model future shared space schemes and to help judge whether they might represent suitable alternatives to traditional street layouts. This paper builds on the authors’ previously published work in which a shared space microscopic mixed traffic model based on the social force model (SFM) was presented, calibrated, and evaluated with data from the shared space link typology of New Road in Brighton, United Kingdom. Here, the goal is to explore the transferability of the authors’ model to a similar shared space typology and investigate the effect of flow and ratio of traffic modes. Data recorded from the shared space scheme of Exhibition Road, London, were collected and analyzed. The flow and speed of cars and segregation between pedestrians and cars are greater on Exhibition Road than on New Road. The rule-based SFM for shared space modeling is calibrated and validated with the real data. On the basis of the results, it can be concluded that shared space schemes are context dependent and that factors such as the infrastructural design of the environment and the flow and speed of pedestrians and vehicles affect the willingness to share space

Modelling shared space users via rule-based social force model

The promotion of space sharing in order to raise the quality of community living and safety of street surroundings is increasingly accepted feature of modern urban design. In this context, the development of a shared space simulation tool is essential in helping determine whether particular shared space schemes are suitable alternatives to traditional street layouts. A simulation tool that enables urban designers to visualise pedestrians and cars trajectories, extract flow and density relation in a new shared space design and achieve solutions for optimal design features before implementation. This paper presents a three-layered microscopic mathematical model which is capable of representing the behaviour of pedestrians and vehicles in shared space layouts and it is implemented in a traffic simulation tool. The top layer calculates route maps based on static obstacles in the environment. It plans the shortest path towards agents' respective destinations by generating one or more intermediate targets. In the second layer, the Social Force Model (SFM) is modified and extended for mixed traffic to produce feasible trajectories. Since vehicle movements are not as flexible as pedestrian movements, velocity angle constraints are included for vehicles. The conflicts described in the third layer are resolved by rule-based constraints for shared space users. An optimisation algorithm is applied to determine the interaction parameters of the force-based model for shared space users using empirical data. This new three-layer microscopic model can be used to simulate shared space environments and assess, for example, new street designs